Something Serious
by spidersrorg
Summary: "I know, I know, ladies' man Hide, who could believe he didn't have any idea how to kiss? This could ruin me, Kaneki!"


Kaneki loosened the tie of his uniform, following Hide as they walked towards Kaneki's house.

"I mean, why'd they have to put both the exams on the same day? It's like they're trying to kill us!" his friend whined jokingly.

Kaneki laughed at that. "I don't know if it's that bad, Hide."

Hide let out a long groan and then moved on to chatter about other topics. They slowed as they approached Kaneki's doorstep, Hide's volume also dying down, "Oh, I have a favor to ask when we get inside."

Kaneki nodded.

They walked through the front door, closing it quietly behind them and slipping off their shoes. Kaneki quickly glanced around a corner to see if his aunt was home.

While he wasn't exactly forbidden from bringing Hide over, if she saw the boy walking in with him she wouldn't hesitate to make snide comments. How loud and annoying he was, how she wasn't buying food to feed Kaneki's friends, how rude they were not to include her son in their study session...with Hide standing right there.

Hide wasn't even loud- usually neither she nor his cousin noticed Hide was there. But if she saw his friend while he was on his way out the door, she'd coo over how it was nice that he helped Kaneki with his studies and how he was such a joy to have around, that Kaneki was such a shut-in and how Hide was so kind to take pity on him.

She didn't seem to be home that afternoon, to Kaneki's relief.

Kaneki stepped into the hall and waved for Hide to follow him up the stairs, sneaking past Yuuichi's room and into his own. As soon as the door was closed behind them Kaneki set his bag onto his bed and settled down next to it, watching as Hide unceremoniously plopped into his desk chair and spun around in it.

"You're better at the dividing up work stuff," Hide piped up, starting to dig through his bag and pulling out books. "Where do we start…"

Kaneki thought for a moment and then opened up his bag to rifle through it, as if sorting through his papers would help sort through his thoughts. They certainly did have a lot of studying to do...he looked up at Hide, who was sorting through his messy folders. "Oh, before we start, what did you need?"

Hide stopped for a moment and met his eyes before standing from the chair and walking over to the bed where Kaneki sat. He sat down next to him and placed his hands on Kaneki's shoulders, looking him dead in the eye, giving off an air of seriousness that slightly unnerved Kaneki because it was hard to tell whether Hide was joking when was acting like that.

"Kaneki Ken, this is a matter of utmost importance."

Kaneki swallowed and nodded.

"I...have a date."

Kaneki couldn't help himself, a fit of giggles escaped his lips.

Hide threw his hands in the air. "I'm serious!"

"Sure, sure," Kaneki replied, putting a hint of suspicion in his voice, "but with all that build-up, I expected…"

"Yeah, with a hot college girl."

"Now I know you're joking."

"No! I'm not! Older ladies dig me!"

"Sure, sure…" Kaneki said, trying to stifle his laughter, "but what did you need?"

"I...that is…" Hide stuttered a bit, "Older girls...they don't have that many reservations do they? Like, what if she wants to kiss me? I know, I know, ladies' man Hide, who could believe he didn't have any idea how to kiss? This could ruin me, Kaneki!"

Kaneki's laughter started up again. When Hide would start with dramatics it was just too much. Hide had never had a girlfriend, but boasting about how he was such a ladies' man… but he still hadn't asked Kaneki for that favor.

"That's why you have to let me practice with you," Hide said, clasping his hands together to beg, "Pleeeeease, Kaneki, I need you."

Kaneki's laughter stopped immediately as blood rushed to his face. "You were serious?! I-It's not like I know any better than you do!"

"Kaneki, I'm begging you…!"

Kaneki looked away. He knew if Hide kept pressing him he'd give in, and the sooner they got this...whole ordeal over with, the sooner they could get to the more pressing matter of their exams. "Alright…"

"Please, Kaneki, I- oh, oh, you agreed. Thank you, Kaneki, I'm forever in your debt…"

Kaneki nodded, swallowing and looking away before he closed his eyes and waited for what was to come.

And Hide's lips pressed against his.

It was...soft.

He didn't really know what to expect, knowing only what he'd read about first kisses in the few romance novels he'd read before decided that they weren't to his taste. It was pleasant.

He didn't know what to expect, but he certainly did not expect the warmth that curled in his chest and caught in his throat. And he especially did not expect to be receiving such a burst of emotion from Hide, his best friend…

He moved to pull away, suddenly much redder and much more embarrassed than he was about the whole thing to begin with. But Hide's hand was at the back of his head, holding him there.

Kaneki swallowed.

It was a chaste kiss, only a press of the lips, until Hide's fingers curled into Kaneki's hair and tugged him closer, which Kaneki hadn't thought was possible, and his bottom lip was sucked between Hide's. A soft noise of surprise escaped him, and Hide pressed further.

The kiss grew deeper and Kaneki found himself melting into it, bringing his trembling hands to cradle Hide's face, catching a few strands of Hide's blonde hair beneath his fingers. He smiled into the kiss, Hide was always getting in trouble for bleaching his hair; he didn't know why the boy even bothered.

Everything slowed for a moment, and then Hide was slipping through his fingers, breaking the kiss. He opened his eyes slowly and met Hide's gaze, suddenly noticing that his breathing had become labored. He tried to calm himself, knowing the red in his face must be noticeable. He thought, maybe, Hide's breaths sounded a little ragged too? No, it couldn't be.

He looked down, breaking the eye contact that had lasted for far too long for comfort, his stomach curling with conflicted emotions.

Hide stood up from their spot on the bed and stretched before walking over to his pile of books.

"So, Chemistry, right?"

Kaneki choked on his words, suddenly everything was nonchalant, but what else could he expect from Hide? "Yeah."

The week after their exams they sat in Big Girl, burgers having just arrived. Hide stopped mid-sentence and dug into his, stuffing his mouth so that his cheeks puffed up cartoonishly.

Kaneki fought back the thought of how cute that was, busying himself with sampling the fries. Something was nagging at him, and he just had to ask…

"How was your date?" Kaneki asked while Hide's mouth was still full, hoping the twinge of jealousy he felt wasn't audible. He immediately snatched up his own burger and took a bite, trying to seem nonchalant.

Hide swallowed.

"What date?"

Kaneki choked.


End file.
